Claire Blakemore

Partner | London

She brings commitment, energy, strong technical expertise and sound judgement to all her work, spanning the full range of family law issues. Claire goes the extra mile for her clients with whom she has solid relationships.

Whether working with domestic or international clients, she deals with complex financial claims, children issues, pre and postnuptial agreements and cohabitant disputes and has extensive experience advising on cases involving trusts.

Her clients are in commerce, finance and tech, professionals, families with inherited wealth and those in the public eye. Whilst being highly experienced in difficult litigation she also has a busy dispute-resolution practice as a collaborative lawyer and mediator.

She has acted for (and for the spouses of) trustees, doctors, lawyers, hedge fund managers, members of aristocracy and people in the public eye. With clients involved in anything from sports and retail to pharmaceuticals and technology, Claire is well versed in dealing with clients holding senior positions in many different sectors.

Claire gets to the nub of the issue quickly, efficiently and with aplomb. She is a pleasure to work with.

Citywealth Leaders List 2015

‘‘

… truly remarkable, both in her grasp of the case (detail and big picture) and in her management of [the client] which I know has not always been easy. I have the privilege of working with the best solicitors in the best firms … but few have been able to provide such consistently and remarkably competent input as Claire has done, with unfailing good humour and, when necessary, resilience.

A leading QC

‘‘

Withers LLP’s ‘mediation team has strength in depth’ with the ‘very experienced’ Claire Blakemore.

Legal 500 2015

‘‘

She is a pragmatic and approachable lawyer. She is hands on with her clients and is extremely flexible and adaptable in advising and supporting them. In terms of being an opponent she is courteous, and generous with her time. She is a delight to work with.

Citywealth Leaders List 2014

‘‘

‘Claire is a very pragmatic person and a real all-rounder.’

Chambers UK 2018, London

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The ‘extremely conscientious’ Claire Blakemore is ‘supportive of her clients and has impeccable judgement’. Claire has ‘a very empathetic manner and an ability to connect with clients. This means that she is particularly skilled at finding common ground, even in situations where a couple is quite polarised. The confidence clients have in her gives them the chance of reaching an agreement’.

Legal 500 UK, 2017

Focus areas

Acted for the husband in M v M (2010) in which he was successful in his cross-claims after the value of the assets plummeted because of the global financial crisis. A separate judgment in the case also awarded him costs and was the first reported case since the costs rules were changed in 2006.

Acted for the husband in BJ v MJ (2011) in which he was successful in securing an award in which a significant proportion of the wife’s claim was retained in trust to respect the offshore trust which had been created during the marriage and the interests of their son.

Acted for the husband in R v R (2015) which was an appeal which dealt with the English court’s jurisdiction to deal with spousal maintenance following previous proceedings in another EU jurisdiction.

Acted for the father in Re S (2014) in which the Court of Appeal dealt with the issue of the child’s objections in relation to a child abduction from Russia.

Acted for a UK businessman involved in shipping and finance married to Greek/US wife in a case with assets across three continents.

Acted for a Russian wife married to Saudi businessman with assets in China, US, Switzerland and three European countries and trusts in three offshore jurisdictions.

Acted for an Eastern European husband married to central European wife with proceedings in three other European countries and assets held across three continents, which involved application of competing international laws and regulations.

Acted for a wife in case involving Channel Island trusts, assets in Europe, Africa, Israel and US and secured an outcome in which the trust assets were included.

Acted for a husband in a financial and children dispute which involved a dispute about the country dealing with the proceedings and secured that the proceedings took place in the husband’s choice of Dubai.

Acted for an Asian husband in forum dispute and child abduction proceedings between England, Asia, US and Canada.

Advised on and implemented a prenuptial agreement spanning six countries.

I'm straight talking and hard working with natural resilience and high energy

I am a family lawyer because I am good at and enjoy helping people through changes and challenges. I am known for protecting my clients’ interests but also for my strategic planning and creative thinking which helps my clients achieve solutions. For some clients the commercial elements are the most important but for others practical or personal requirements are the greater drivers. My approach is to understand my clients quickly, give them a clear road map to a resolution and deliver a good outcome.

Whether I’m working with clients in disputes, (when dealing with divorce, separation, finances or children) or for those entering into pre- or post-nuptial or cohabitation agreements, by assessing a mixture of the legal issues and personal dynamics I give early advice on outcome and strategy. For clients in disputes I often use dispute resolution processes (I am a mediator and a collaborative practitioner) but with extensive complex litigation experience which often involves international elements, I do not shy away from using that route when required.

I’m straight talking and hard working with natural resilience and high energy. I feel strongly that the best family lawyers are those with the wider essential skills to deliver the outcomes their clients seek. As Chair of Resolution’s Skills committee (which creates skills training for family lawyers) I have been delivering skills training to the profession for over a decade.

On a personal note my family and our dog keep me busy. We now live in the countryside but close enough to London and the coast to have the best of all worlds. We enjoy visiting new places, seeing familiar faces and are always on the go.